


“Take my seat.”

by CanadianHogwarts



Series: 100 ways to say I love you [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 01:39:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13353813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanadianHogwarts/pseuds/CanadianHogwarts
Summary: When there's nowhere else to turn, Remus goes back to the Burrow.





	“Take my seat.”

“Remus?” The question was sharp and direct. Arthur Weasley’s wand was out, his jaw clenched. “Prove yourself.” Remus’ shoulders slumped, and the rain splashed down his collar.

“I met you for the first time in over a decade after your twin sons set off Walburga Black’s portrait with fireworks in Grimmauld place.” His voice was hoarser than normal, but the words seemed to satisfy Arthur, as the wand was lowered. He did not, however, step away from the front door.

“What are you doing here, Remus?” he asked. Remus avoided Arthur’s eyes. Harry’s voice was clear as it had been in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place two nights previous. _Coward. Coward. Coward._

“I don’t know,” he whispered. Arthur crossed his arms.

“Molly had a floo call the other night,” he said. “Do you know who it was from?” Remus glanced up at him. The older man’s face was cold.  _Coward. Coward. Coward._

“Yes,” said Remus.

“You’re still wearing your wedding ring,” said Arthur. “She wasn’t sure you would be.” Remus’ throat was closing. He met Arthur’s eyes at last.

“Please help me,” he said, quietly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Arthur’s face softened slightly, though his shoulders remained stiff.

“Come in,” he said. “We’ve been worried.” Remus followed him through to the kitchen tiredly, feeling like a small boy once again as Arthur pulled his cloak from him and cast a drying spell over his wet hair. Molly came into the room, looking scared and worried.

“Oh, Remus,” she said, sadly. “Look at the state of you.” She exchanged a look with her husband as Remus shivered as the warming charm disappeared.

“What happened?” asked Arthur, still coolly. He crossed the room to stand next to Molly. Remus took a breath.

“I think I’ve made a mistake,” he began. The story tripped out of him, from Dora’s parents’ state after the attack at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, to the baby, to the final, awful confrontation with Harry and the subsequent days of hiding from his own thoughts. By the end his shoulders were shaking again, but not from the cold. Molly came towards him and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, Remus,” she said again. “Here, take my seat by the fire. You’re not completely lost, dear.” Across the table, Arthur smiled faintly at him.

“You’re a good man, Remus,” he said. “You don’t need to make things so difficult for yourself.”

Remus collapsed into the proffered chair, his head dropping into his hands.

“I’m not,” he said miserably. “I can’t do it. I can’t be who she needs me to be. And the child. What kind of father will a thing like me be?”

There was silence from both Weasleys for a moment, and had Remus been thinking straight, he would have guessed they were exchanging another look over his head.

“Remus,” said Arthur, after the quiet had grown to a roar. “For such a brilliant young man, you can be a damned idiot.” Remus didn’t lift his head. He heard shuffling as Arthur took the seat across from him.

“I’m going to tell you a story,” continued Arthur. “Maybe you’ve heard it. In fact, I know you have.” The fire crackled. Remus rubbed his temples, feeling hopeless.

“Weasleys don’t have girls,” said Arthur. “I only had my brothers. My father only had brothers, and his father before him. I honestly couldn’t tell you when the last Weasley girl was born. But sixteen years ago, Molly won out over even Weasley genes. And we had Ginny.”

Remus looked up, finally. Arthur was looking into the fire. Molly leaned against his armchair, uncharacteristically quiet. She had a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

“What does this have to do with me?” asked Remus, trying not to sound petulant. Arthur glanced at him briefly, before looking back into the flames.

“She was always our baby, of course,” he continued, as if Remus hadn’t interrupted. “The youngest, and a little girl. I wouldn’t say we spoiled her (or we tried not to), but she did get away with things the boys might not have done. And we always protected her. All of us, from me, all the way to little Ronnie.”

Molly’s knuckles whitened for a moment as Arthur mentioned her youngest son’s name, but still she didn’t speak.

“You know what happened to her, of course,” said Arthur. “You-know-who took over her mind and brought her down to the chamber.”

Remus nodded, feeling the cold rain dripping down his neck.

“I did the best that I could,” said Arthur. “I protected her in every way that I was able, and yet she almost died because of a silly grudge I had with Malfoy.” The fire reflected in Arthur’s glasses as Remus watched, his fingers cold and shaking.

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully forgive myself for what happened to Ginny,” continued Arthur, quietly. “But not once has she blamed me for it. Not once has she asked me why I hadn’t protected her in the way that I should have done. Because we’re family. And family means forgiveness and love. Within reason, of course.

“We can’t tell you how to do what you need to do, Remus. But if Tonks loves you as much as you and I know she does, she’ll be able to forgive you for your faults. And your son or daughter will love you as fiercely as their mother does. You just have to give them the same thing in return.”

Molly shifted next to her husband.

“Your wife married a man because of who he is, not what he becomes,” she said softly. “You knew that, or you wouldn’t have fallen in love with her. Do you really think she’ll let your child hate you for something that’s never defined you?”

Remus stared at them, their faces shadowed and their eyes worried and sad.

“I’m terrified,” he said, quietly. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” _Coward_ rung in his ears again, but it was muted this time, covered in exhaustion and the deep sadness that sometimes (often) threatened to overwhelm him.

“You’re not alone,” said Arthur. “There are a lot of things in the world right now to be scared of. But please, Remus. Not this. Don’t be afraid of your child.” Molly reached across and took his cold hand in one of her warm ones.

“You’ve lost so many, dear,” she said. “You don’t have to protect yourself from losing them too. Go back to her.”

Remus closed his eyes, and thoughts of Dora and Harry and Sirius and James and Lily filled his mind.

“I know,” he said.


End file.
